Auk, XV, April, 1898, 
The Philadelphia Vireo ( Vireo fihiladelphicus ). — I read with much 
interest the article on the Philadelphia Vireo by Dr. Jonathan Dwight, 
Jr., published recently in ‘The Auk’ (Vol. XIV, No. 3). It may interest 
many who have perused that article to know that I met with a pair of 
these birds and secured their nest within a short distance of Lansdowne 
Station, Ontario. This happened in June, 1S95. I had never met with 
the species before, but knew of it as being an occasional summer visitant 
to the vicinity of Ottawa, Ont. The place where 1 met with the birds 
was a rough pasture with here and there a clump of young poplar trees 
on the drier ground, elsewhere there were wet boggy places of small 
extent grown up with alders, an occasional tamarack, and a great deal of 
the well known plant, Spircea salts if olia ‘ some of this latter growing to 
the unusual height of four or even five feet. It was in a spray of the 
latter that I discovered the nest on the 14th of June, 1895. In it were 
two Cowbird’s eggs, and one of the Vireo’s. I removed the Vireo* s egg 
and one of the Cowbird’s, which had the effect of causing the birds 
to desert, for I visited the place a few days later and saw nothing of 
them. 
With regard to the nest (which I gave to Professor Jno. McCoun of 
Ottawa), it was scarcely so finished a structure as is the Red-eyed Vireo’s. 
The outside was a little ragged, a few stalks of dried grass protruding. 
Though pensile, it was not so carefully finished off; the straggling 
nature of the shrub perhaps preventing this. A quantity of spider’s 
webs, etc., completed the structure. 
With regard to the egg, it was marked exactly like that of the Red-eye, 
Vireo but was smaller, and according to its size was rather more globular 
in shape. 
My observation of the birds and their location agreed very nearly with 
Dr. Dwight’s experience, and had he searched and watched the place per- 
sistently where on the 10th July, 1893, he noticed what he took to be a 
female scolding and ruffling her feathers, he would probably have 
found the nest. 1 was attracted to the nest I found by the anxiety of the 
birds; they scolded and were quite tame. I have not noticed the Red- 
eye act thus. They hopped from branch to branch of the neighboring- 
alders incessantly; there were no high trees near by. • I observed them 
through strong field glasses, and in describing the birds should say that 
they were decidedly smaller than the Red-eye, more bulky in shape, with 
a somewhat shorter tail proportionately. The yellow shading of the 
breast was not very evident, but there was a tendency to a lighter shade, 
without being a definite mark, on the wings. The persistent scolding 
seems to be a marked characteristic, to which Dr, Dwight refers. 
The nest was located near the extremity of a stem of spiraea, about four 
feet from the ground, in a place that is always wet, except in very dry 
seasons. In searching for another nest, like Dr. Dwight, I should not 
think of looking in large trees or even moderate sized ones. After locat- 
ing the bird, I should search in damp places among willows (where 
Mr. Thompson found the nest in Manitoba), among growths of aiders, 
and as in the case of the nest I found, among straggling growths of 
spiraea, etc. 1 do not think they will ever be found to build high up in 
maples or hickories like the Warbling Vireo, nor yet on high ground 
among second growth maples and birches as the Red-eye very frequently 
does, at least in this neighborhood, or even in dense woods.. — C. J. 
Young, Lansdowne , Ont. 
